Monday 17 November 2014

ComedyCoup: If I had 15 ComedyCoup Projects

I have really been enjoying the CBC's ComedyCoup, as can be seen from all the blog posts I have written about it. I have watched a lot of videos and delved into a lot of the projects, and I liked a lot of what I've seen.

However, I do sometimes disagree with the choices that fans have made to promote certain projects and leave others behind, so I have decided to make my very own Top 15 list. These are the shows that I wish had made the Top 15 mixed in with shows that very much did make the Top 15.

Of course, as per my previous blog post my number one project on ComedyCoup is:


I am all in for Welcome to Tulip and this is my choice as the best project on ComedyCoup. The next four in my Final 5 are:

2. Charlie And Yoni. #LifeAfter30.
3. Dépflies
4. Heir Heads
5. Humantown 

This was an incredibly difficult list to make, and these projects are often separated by a hair. To round off my Top 15 there are projects that were really close to getting into my Final 5 and that I agonized over excluding:


Finally, we come to the rest of the projects I thought deserved to be in the Top 15. Some of these never made it past the Top 55, but I thought they very much deserved to. Some of these are in the Top 15, and it is well deserved:


There are a lot of great projects that made it this far on ComedyCoup, and a lot of great projects that didn't. Quite frankly, choosing the best of these projects is often just rolling the dice and seeing which great project from amongst a lot of great projects gets chosen.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention a bunch of the projects that did not make my final cut, but very well could have. My honourable mentions are:

I think all of these projects are excellent, and I think many of them had a good chance to win the whole thing. I am looking forward to the next round of ComedyCoup, I'm eager to see what will happen!

Follow me on Twitter: @WendelSchwab

Sunday 16 November 2014

ComedyCoup: One Comedy Show to Rule Them All

After days of agonizing and wrestling with this difficult decision, I know which ComedyCoup project should win and be accelerated into its very own show.

My choice for the best project ComedyCoup ever did see is:


There are so many reasons why Welcome To Tulip is my personal choice, the three main ones are the spot on comic abilities displayed by the Tulip Gang, the technical proficiency displayed with every video the Tulip Gang makes, and the twist on the classic small town theme that pervades so much Canadiana. Welcome To Tulip is set in a hamlet where the main source of income is a theatre that attracts the touristy element. Ever since Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock, written over 100 years ago, there has a proud tradition of satirizing the follies and antics of people living in little towns that dot our great nation. This isn't your average small town comedy though, the antics look to be hilarious. The writing and acting for Welcome To Tulip is top notch in the comedy department, which is important for a comedy show. The Tulip Gang will do anything for a laugh, including jump into the cold, cold ocean. These expert comedy stylings are leavened with great technical talent as the guys in the Tulip Gang know exactly where to put the camera and exactly what to do with it. Whether it's a scene that looks like a single shot, or horror angles and shaky camera that add a surreal element to the scene, Welcome to Tulip looks like a show that's already been airing for years.

Everyone must vote for Welcome To Tulip to win ComedyCoup, follow them on Twitter and Facebook, and above all: vote and #BeFanatic for Welcome To Tulip!

Wednesday 12 November 2014

The ComedyCoup Strain: Countdown to Greatness

You can see from my previous blog post about ComedyCoup how I would be very hesitant to choose my very favourite from amongst all these great shows. It'd be kind of like asking me to choose my favourite (non-existent) child. I'd have to think for a little while, but there would be a very clear winner and a whole lot of losers. In the end, I am going to have to say that my very favourite project featured on ComedyCoup, the project that I think should win the grand prize and get to film a real life TV show pilot is.... (drumroll)...

No wait, I'm not at all ready to reveal that information. I will reveal it on, or possibly before, Sunday, but for now I'd like to throw out a few mentions for a few great projects and recap the projects I like. Almost all of the Top 15 projects deserve to be accelerated, so I've taken out my garden shears of criticism and hacked away until I developed a definitive list. The projects I mention are all great and I would be glad if any one of them won the big prize for ComedyCoup.

But first, a few honourable mentions: I would be remiss if I didn't begin with Geoff and the Ninja. This is a show about a guy down on his luck who is forced to get a ninja as a roommate. This project was made by a few guys from my hometown, which is pretty darn cool. Finally, Buddy Guys is very much worth a a look. This project makes me laugh out loud, and I love how they flipped the majority group/minority group expectations in their last video.

To recap, here are my favourite ComedyCoup projects from the Top 15. Each and every one of these projects deserves a look:

Tuesday 11 November 2014

Which Comedy is the Coupiest of all the Comedies on ComedyCoup?

If you haven't heard, at this very moment the CBC is holding a competition called ComedyCoup. In a nutshell, this is a sort of contest that a number of aspiring television show makers have entered for the chance to win $500,000 to make a half hour comedy TV show pilot (hence the name).

I love the concept for this competition, I've watched almost 200 aspiring trailers, and I must say, there have been some amazing shows submitted to ComedyCoup. So many that I would love to watch as a half hour television show. If I owned a production company, I would totally pick up a few of these and try to turn them into pilots.

A few of the shows I love include, in no particular order:

First of all, there is Dépflies, a show about people who hang out at the local dépanneur ("convenience store" for all you Anglos out there), it's like Clerks, but set in Montréal. If Dépflies wins, it'll be Canada's first bi-lingual comedy show! Another show that I am liking so far is Bike Cops. Set in Toronto, Bike Cops follows the epic adventures of the most fearsome squad on the force! Well, actually, it's about the misadventures about the most goofy squad on the force. Then there is Heir Heads, two lovable morons are set to inherit their dad's billions. That is, if they can earn a ONE MILLION DOLLARS (hold pinky to mouth) all on their own. One of the heir heads, Ryan Beil, totally reminds me of a Canadian David Mitchell. I hope we'll get to see much more of Humantown, even if they don't win the ComedyCoup. The premise of this show is that it is a wacky sketch comedy show were all the sketches bleed into one another. It looks to be funny as heck. Charlie And Yoni. #LifeAfter30. is a fun romp, it's nice to see an irreverent women-centric comedy. Just don't warn them about their title, they're well aware of it! I'm also pretty sure that making your title a hashtag is marketing gold. A small town show that will be huge is Welcome to Tulip. These guys look like they'll do anything in the name of comedy. Anything. Finally, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't mention Infinite Possibilities, (it's like a Canadian comedy Quantum Leap), Wharf Rats, (though this one might have too much man butt for me), and Roll For Damage, (why aren't there more DND related TV shows out there?)

How could anyone ever pick and choose which is best from amongst these comedy gems? This is such a hard choice to make. Though, I would have to say my personal top 5, again, in no particular order, (discounting the top 1, which I will blog about later) are:





I want these amazing projects to make it into the Top 5, but I do have a favourite. Soon I will choose my very favourite of the ComedyCoup shows and tell you exactly why I think it deserves to win the contest. Until then, bye bye for now!

Follow me on Twitter: @WendelSchwab